Bow Cycle is one of my favourite LBSs – even though it isn’t really all that local! [15km ride each way from me] I’ve been a customer since before ’96 and bought a lot of my bikes/parts there over the years – including: Surly Big Dummy, Surly LHT, 2 BikeE CTs and Cannondale R800 – as well as lots more bikes for my friends. They are keen to expand their on-line presence and have asked me to keep a blog on their shop website here. Content will be about 50% written just for my Bow Blog and 50% recycled content about bikes I’ve bought at Bow.

Bow Cycle is a great shop so I’m happy to help them out and they’ve hooked me up with great bikes so I’ve got lots of Bow Cycle related ideas for posts. They’ve agreed to let me have some bikes on short and long term loan so I can ride them and write reviews. That’s ideal for me as I love to try out new bikes without having to deal with buying and selling them. So if you have any specific bikes you’d like to get some feedback on let me know. If Bow Cycle has one in stock I’ll talk to them about getting it for a test and post my evaluation.

The first bike will be a Bow Bicycle Company 2-4 cyclocross bike which is a special design/spec made for them by Cannondale.

I had a fun ride today on the Big Dummy down to Bow Cycle for their Bike Expo. At 30kms round trip it was a good effort on my injured leg. Cruising over ice & snow covered paths was a challenge, but I made it without problems. Of course right in front of Bow Cycle I managed to blow my dismount and end up in a pile under my Big Dummy! I can’t even blame it on my SPD pedals as I was riding BMX plaftorms. I survived with no major damage to my foot – my ego – well that’s another story.

The expo itself was lots of fun. I’ll be posting photos tomorrow of the cool stuff on display. Besides the Surly booth I had fun playing with the Shimano road bike electric shifting gruppo – slick. Given all the bling I went home with a full load on the back of my Big Dummy. A new bike I’ll be playing with over the next week or so…what could it be?…=-)

I’ve had my eye on a Bike Friday travel bike all summer ever since I ran into two Bike Friday owners in town with their sweet rides. It’s much easier to resist a bike when you can’t see and touch it in person! I was actually thinking I might get a Bike Friday that wasn’t black [gasp!], but I may have to reconsider.

Black goes with everything!

BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

Buy any Bike Friday – as long as it’s black –
Get 15% off!

Hello Friday Friends,

We can’t let a Black Friday go by without giving you the chance to own one at a wicked price.

For today and tomorrow only, you can get any Friday you like as long as it’s black, at 15% off. We usually only reserve that price for our friends, family, dealers, and random acts of generosity. Like today …

How about turning over a new commuting leaf with a Model-T tikit for just $850, normally $999, a saving of almost $150, in any color you like as long as it’s black? Or, for a few dollars more, get the famous Hyperfold version. Here’s a movie of how you grocery shop with a hyperfold tikit. And here’s the none-too-shabby fold of the Model T. A thoughtful (and useful) Christmas gift it makes …

Or a what about a black beauty from any of our new streamlined and simplified 2009 Model Range? Best of all, you can save money without leaving your house and battling with the post-Thanksgiving stampede.

Call or email our Sales Experts at 1-800-777-0258, email sales@bikefriday.com, who are working hard on this post Thanksgiving Day to take your order.

Offer expires at midnight Eugene, Oregon time. As long as we receive your email by midnight November 30 (giving you til Sunday) and your payment by close of business Monday Dec 1, the deal is yours. If you have a local Bike Friday dealer, the order will be shipped to that store and your dealer duly credited. Discount applies to the bicycle only – black paint is free, spend your savings on some cool Bike Friday accessories.

I posted this in Nov 2006 to my personal blog. I’ve just stripped down this bike and cleaned up the frame before putting it into storage. I’ve got a new winter bike project in mind for this year, but I’m still waiting on bits to arrive…=-)

Schwalbe Snow Stud

It’s hard to believe November just started and the streets are already covered with ice and snow. I have been bracing myself for winter I just didn’t expect it to start so soon and with such vigor. Oh well such is life in the Great White North!

My Schwinn mtn bike (AKA the Urban Assault Machine) got the nod as my winter ride. I slapped a Schwalbe studded tire on the front and a Schwalbe Marathon XR on the rear – both 26″ x 1.9″. Studs aren’t really needed on the road, but the bike paths are not well cleared and without automobile traffic they don’t stay ice free the way well traveled roads do. We actually had a debate a few weekends ago, at the start of the LOTR marathon, whether or not studded tires were a benefit or hindrance for a Calgary winter cyclist. Dwayne and Nick felt they were not useful and I think they are – especially a lightly studded tire like the Schwalbe. My thinking is the studs add a bit of weight and might be less desirable on dry roads/paths, but the first time you hit a stretch of ice on the bike paths you’ll be glad you had a studded tire. I only put studs on the front because if your front wheel slides out you crash in two seconds. A sliding rear tire can be controlled and can even be fun. Bottom line I’ll be able to test out my hypothesis and report back at the end of the winter.

SKS fender and old school Avid mech discs

Fenders are essential in the winter – at least if you want to stay reasonably clean. I’d prefer full coverage fenders, but I had these clip on SKS fenders kicking around so I’ll use them for now. I am also feeling a bit lazy and setting up full coverage fenders on a front suspension mtn bike with disc brakes is “do able”, but it would take a lot of fiddling.

Schwalbe Marathon XR & SKS rear fender

The Schwalbe Marathon XR isn’t the ideal winter tire, but I already had it in my inventory and it is more aggressive than the semi-slick Continental Travel Contact tire it is replacing.

Grippy Wellgo BMX Pedals

I ditched my Time platform clip-in pedals for some studded Wellgo BMX pedals. Secure footing with any shoes or boots and it is easy to put a foot down when the inevitable sliding starts. I just have to try and keep the studs from engaging my shins!

No I am not finished with the lights! I’ll use a Planet Bike rear helmet blinkie and a Princeton Tec EOS headlamp attached to my helmet. The EOS can be set to flash to be seen or set to steady light to illuminate the road.

I know this seems excessive, but when driving to work in the AM I am constantly amazed at cyclists cruising around in busy traffic with minimal or no lights and dark clothing. I am a cyclist so I should be more aware of bikers than most drivers, but in many cases I only see them at the last minute. So I’d rather look a little over cautious than be dead or seriously injured.